Obligation to File Tax

Notification to File Income Tax Return

You must file an Income Tax Return if you receive a letter, form or an SMS from IRAS informing you to do so. It does not matter how much you earned in the previous year or whether your employer is participating in the
Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) for Employment Income.

Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) for Employment Income

If your employer is participating in the AIS, you need not file the income
received from this employer. Your employer will e-submit your employment income
information to IRAS by 1 Mar of each year and it will be automatically included
in your income tax assessment.

You will still have to file a tax return if you received a notification to
file and declare your other sources of income (e.g. rental income, etc).

You can view your auto-included information in the 'Income, Deductions and
Reliefs Statement (IDRS)' at myTax Portal.

Pre-filling of Income for Self-Employed Persons (SEPs)

IRAS
has been pre-filling commission income for individual commission
earners such as property and insurance agents since 2015. Your income will be pre-filled in your
electronic tax returns if you have received commission/trade income from these organisations (544KB).

For 2018, IRAS
has expanded the pre-filling initiative for Grab and Uber to transmit their
drivers’ income and commission fees to IRAS by 1 Mar. IRAS is piloting the transmission
mode through Application Programming Interface (API) with Grab and Uber.

Grab and Uber drivers who have indicated their participation in the pilot scheme through
the Grab and Uber platforms (172KB) will have their income and
commission fees pre-filled in their electronic tax returns.

You
can view the pre-filled information in the “Income, Deductions and Reliefs
Statement (IDRS)” at myTax Portal.

You
are required to verify the information and declare your other sources of income,
if any e.g. rental income. You may amend the 2-line / 4-line statement
at the Sole-Proprietorship/Self-employed income page under the Trade, Business,
Profession or Vocation section of the tax return if your total income/expenses
is different from the pre-filled information.

You
will still need to declare your income if you have been notified by IRAS to
file, regardless of your option. Penalties
may be imposed for wrongful or non-disclosure of income.